Seventh Lawsuit Notice Filed Involving Enfield Police Officer

ENFIELD — A Maine man has notified the town that he plans to file suit charging the use of excessive force by Officer Matthew Worden during an arrest.

The notice of intent to sue was filed last week on behalf of Zachary Trowbridge of Milo, Maine. Trowbridge says in the document that his rights were violated when Worden's police dog bit him several times in Aug. 2013. Worden is one of the town's two K-9 officers.

Trowbridge's notice was the seventh filed with the town involving Worden in the past few months. Worden is currently on paid administrative leave while an internal affairs investigation continues into a brutality complaint filed by Mark Maher of Windsor, who was arrested at the town boat launch by Worden in April.

In Trowbridge's case, Worden and at least three other officers went to an apartment on Main Street in Somers to serve arrest warrants on Trowbridge and his brother, Joshua. Zachary Trowbridge was wanted on warrant for failure to appear in court issued by state police, court records show.

"I know both Trowbridge brothers live at this location, because I have arrested them there for warrants within the past two months and neighbors have been in constant contact with me and other officers, updating us daily as to when they see Joshua and Zachary," Worden wrote in his report.

As two officers knocked on the front door, Worden, his dog, Falco, and another officer went around back, according to the police report. The two brothers ran out the back and Worden ordered them to stop, he wrote in the report. He said that only Joshua did.

Worden said he released the dog to track down Zachary, the report said.

"K-9 Falco maintained a bite and hold on Zachary's right lower leg," Worden said in his report. "Zachary fought with K-9 Falco initially, pushing on his head and reaching toward Falco's throat."

Worden said Falco's bite lasted "approximately 10 seconds."

In the notice to the town, Hartford attorney A. Paul Spinella wrote that Zachary Trowbridge suffered numerous injuries, "including but not limited to canine bites over his entire body, in particular right lower limb; bruising and injury over entire body including head, back and upper and lower limbs" and psychological trauma including post-traumatic stress syndrome.

After his arrest, Trowbridge was taken back to the police station, where emergency personnel evaluated his leg injuries. Trowbridge was taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Another officer who responded wrote a separate police report indicating he inspected the "bite site" on Trowbridge's leg and that there were "puncture wounds, but no active bleeding."

Worden wrote that he did not charge Zachary Trowbridge with interfering with police because the arrest took place in Somers.

Spinella said the injuries were worse than described in the police reports.

"Even now, [Trowbridge] still has scars from the dog bites on his leg," Spinella said.